Learn chemistry by playing games!

By seeing my interest in cricket when I was a kid (I am only 17), my mum has said this: “If you had shown the same level of interest in your studies too, you would have become first in the class.” I am sure all of us have faced this question. Children have a natural interest and curiosity in some activities (e.g. games, computers, etc.); if we take such activities as a medium to teach them their regular lessons there is chance that they will understand the subject better. Modern educators are going in this direction in teaching chemistry.

Instead of using books, beakers and test tubes, students battle aliens and other mysterious forces that are trying to destroy the earth by increasing global warming.

Using gaming technology to supplement science instruction involves a different level of interactivity for students. Listening to lectures and taking tests is not authentic to the real world and the way we learn concepts. – Carlos Morales, an associate professor of computer graphics technology at Purdue University in Indiana.

In each room, there is a chemistry-based challenge that the student must perform to go to the next level. If all the challenges are met, a nuclear reactor is blown up and the planet is saved. If done correctly, the user will be able to save the planet from global warming by thwarting the aliens’ plans and destroying the reactor.

Although it will never replace traditional teaching, I believe it could lower student trepidation about chemistry and reinforce what is taught in the classroom.